Afghanistan

Throughout Abdul Wahid Gulrani's tenure at Carter School, the primary focus is on conducting in-depth research on the social and cultural factors contributing to the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in August 2021.

In  partnership with the GMU Afghan Scholars Program, the Carter School welcomes Dr. Mansoor Ehsan.  A political analyst and researcher, Dr. Ehsan joins the Carter School as Scholar in Residence for a year beginning summer 2022.

Dr. Ehsan is a seasoned political analyst who specializes in Afghanistan and Central Asia studies. He has published extensively in credible publications on the topics of democracy, nationalism, state-building, peace-building, political Islam, and human security.

To support Afghan refugees needing to relaunch their careers in the United States, George Mason University is inviting scholars and researchers who have recently left Afghanistan to request an academic appointment as visiting scholars.

Mason volunteers stepped up to help when a group of 174 Afghan refugees, fleeing the Taliban takeover of their country on a U.S. government flight, sheltered for 24 hours at Northern Virginia Community College’s gym in Annandale, Aug. 20-21.

The Taliban’s reign in Afghanistan is not feasible long-term, said Charles Davidson, executive director of the Political Leadership Academy at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Will the Taliban be able to use the aircraft U.S. forces abandoned in Afghanistan? Mark N. Katz doubts it, unless there is foreign assistance which, he says “is unlikely to be forthcoming.”

As the government in Afghanistan collapsed and the Taliban seized power on the heels of the American exit from the country, Ellen Laipson, former vice chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Council and director of the international security program at the Schar School of Policy and Government, gave her assessment of the situation in an opinion piece for Asia Times.